What was going on when I was born?

The problems of Ohio's non-federally insured savings institutions have been confined to that state so far, but there are fears within the financial community that if the problem in Ohio is not cleared up quickly it might spread to institutions elsewhere that are not federally insured. A survey this past weekend of executives of non-federally insured institutions indicated that some were concerned about the impact the Ohio situation ultimately may have on their depositors. Some have taken actions to make sure they have plenty of cash on hand today to satisfy the demands of their customers. Financial analysts, however, were more worried. ''At some point, if this drags on too much longer, there's a systemic risk in those states where there is private deposit insurance,'' said Lawrence W. Cohn, chief bank- stock analyst for Dean Witter Reynolds Inc. ''That's why everybody wants it over.''

At their sprawling mountain headquarters on the border between Nicaragua and Honduras, Nicaraguan guerrilla commanders soberly assessed their chances of victory last week and spoke anxiously of the debate on their future in Washington. The apparently impregnable military camp, shrouded by dense jungle and gray rain clouds, is far from Washington. But the rebels' keen awareness of the heated debate they have generated in Congress almost seems to narrow the distance between their base and the American capital. The border camp is the command center for the Nicaraguan Democratic Force, by far the largest exile army. The group received most of the $80 million the Central Intelligence Agency reportedly spent on the war until financing was ended last June. A C.I.A. spokesman said the agency declined to comment on its activities or on the Nicaraguan rebels.

The contract between the New York City Transit Authority and its 36,600 bus and subway workers expires in two weeks, but the president of the union says there is ''no way'' he will call a strike if a settlement has not been reached by then. The Transport Workers Union, once the pacesetter in municipal labor negotiations, has reversed strategy in its current contract talks, seeking instead to await the outcome of the longdelayed bargaining between city workers and the Koch administration. As an alternative to a strike, the president of Local 100 of the union, John E. Lawe, has asked the Transit Authority to agree to arbitration if negotiations are not successful. If an agreement on arbitration is not reached, Mr. Lawe said, he is prepared to wait to see how other public employee unions do. 'Out Front Long Enough' The transit workers negotiate with the Transit Authority and its parent, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, an independent agency with its own budget.

Divestiture, acquisitions and continued growth in the automobile industry in 1984 helped shape the rankings of the nation's 25 largest nonfinancial corporations. Petroleum companies, as in years past, continued to dominate the list of corporations, which are ranked in terms of revenue. With softer demand for petroleum products, however, some of these large oil companies have had slightly lower revenue and nearly half reported lower earnings. Still, oil companies accounted for 11 of the 25 companies listed.

Michael Cleary, 33 years old, was standing with his young son watching the St. Patrick's Day parade here. But the festivities were not the only thing on his mind. He was worrying about what would happen to his agreement to buy a new house. Mr. Cleary, like about half a million others in Ohio, was stunned on Friday to learn that Governor Richard F. Celeste had declared a ''bank holiday'' affecting 71 privately insured savings and loan institutions. Among them was one that Mr. Cleary used.

Villanova's experience paid big dividends today as the Wildcats upset Michigan, the nation's No. 2-ranked team, in the second round of the N.C.A.A. basketball tournament's Southeast Regional. Led by its best seniors - Dwayne McClain, Ed Pinckney and Gary McLain - the Wildcats ended Michigan's 17-game winning streak with a 59-55 victory before 13,260 fans in the University of Dayton Arena. Thus the Big Ten champions became the first of the four regionals' top-seeded teams to be eliminated in this 47th National Collegiate Athletic Association championship. Villanova, seeded eighth in the Southeast, advanced to the regional semifinals Friday in Birmingham, Ala. The Wildcats will meet Maryland, which defeated Navy today, 64- 59.

As the winds of March herald the coming of spring and a new lobstering season, disquiet again looms over the icy waters of Long Island Sound. On the New York side and in Connecticut, too, lobstermen are readying their boats, repairing their pots and worrying that the disputes of recent seasons will flare up once more. Charges of overfishing, rustling and property damage abound. In some measure it is a battle of the old and new: Those who still use the generations-old pot method of lobster fishing say that huge trawlers are taking over, depleting stocks and destroying equipment. ''It is a conflict over sharing the resource,'' said Eric Smith, assistant director of fisheries for Connecticut's Department of Environmental Protection. ''The pot fishermen have had a protected turf for a long time. They're not going to give that up easily.''

In a matchup of coaching strategies and two proud conferences, Georgia Tech broke away from Syracuse early in the second half and went on to a 70-53 victory in the second round of the N.C.A.A. East Regional today. Tech (26-7) advanced to a regional semifinal game Thursday night in Providence against Illinois (26-8), which eliminated Georgia, 74-58, today. Mark Price, a guard, led Tech with 18 points and Yvon Joseph, a center, had 17. Rafael Addison scored 17 for Syracuse. Dwayne (Pearl) Washington, the Syracuse playmaker, was limited to 7 points on 2-for-9 shooting.

When the breeze wafts across the crowded landfills of 100 American cities, keen business noses recognize a familiar scent: money. New York City, which has turned its last 20 years of garbage into the highest peak on the Eastern Seaboard, in a Staten Island landfill that will soon run out of space, is preparing to spend $2.5 billion on the construction of eight trash-to-energy plants, and billions more to operate them. San Francisco and neighboring municipalities recently agreed to the construction of a $200 million plant that will burn hundreds of tons of garbage a day and produce 40 megawatts of electricity. In the meantime, since they have filled nearby landfills, they haul their refuse 57 miles. From the burgeoning population centers of Florida to the sparsely settled reaches of Alaska, North American cities are finding that burning their wastes and selling the energy as electricity or steam is cheaper or healthier than operating dumps. Few municipal governments are equipped to build and run the plants, leaving private industry lots of room for profit.

MONDAY, MARCH 18, 1985 The Ohio Bank Crisis The 71 thrift units closed on Friday will not reopen before Wednesday. But state officials say a plan has been devised that would allow some of them to reopen ''within a matter of days, rather than weeks,'' if they can meet the requirements for Federal insurance. (Page A1.)

With Congress hungry for painless ways to cut military spending, the Pentagon is examining whether defense contractors make too much profit or not enough. It hopes to find out whether its pricing rules encourage companies to cut costs or - as many critics charge - perversely reward inefficiency because, under the rules, higher costs generally yield greater profits. This spring the Defense Department will complete its first comprehensive review of profits and accounting practices in a decade. The General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, is monitoring the Pentagon study and will issue its own evaluation. Debate on Defense Budget These two studies of procurement and profits are likely to figure prominently in the coming debate over the defense budget and may leave a lasting impact on one of the nation's largest industries - defense and aerospace.

If this is life without Brent Sutter, the Islanders are in trouble. Without their star center controlling the puck and manning the power play, the Islanders fell behind early by three goals, surrendered two short-handed goals and lost to the Flyers this afternoon, 5-3. Everyone seemed a touch off, including Billy Smith, the goalie. Coach Al Arbour said, ''I guess our guys don't like 2 o'clock starts, because they sure didn't show up.''